Shadow's Blade
by gunner brat
Summary: Naruto was thrown away by the orphanage and lost until someone found him.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:I do not own or am making money off of this fic.

Ko carefully inspected the 'dead body' of his target and opening the eyes a crack he gave a small hum of satisfaction. His real target was in an enforced sleep having exhausted himself in a frantic but short fight and that area was swarmed by ANBU. He carried the boy away from the scene far enough that he wouldn't be found out and went to work. He was satisfied with the work and carrying the small boy out of the forest he jumped the fence and was out of Konoha. The Hokage summit had the village on high alert but all the people who could have stopped him was protecting the aged Hokage miles away. Of course it would be weeks until anyone noticed the lone Uzumaki had gone missing. The orphanage he normally stayed at gave the young boy the boot when the news came that the Hokage was outside of the gate. The meeting was to last two months and he watched the denizens of this city heap abuse after abuse on this boy and gained a grudging respect for him. He paused to consider his options as the young boy slept unaware of how his path in life was going to change. Ko was hired to kill the boy in a manner that benefitted a serial murderer rather than a child but he didn't question it until he found out how pathetically easy it would have been to do so under the neglectful gazes of his care takers and so called protectors. He pitied the boy and when the opportunity struck he gave the boy a fair chance to run but against all sense he didn't and fought. The client never exactly said he had to kill the boy only for the boy to be 'gone' from Konoha but it was heavily implied with amendments and bonuses and highest pay if he was in 'rough shape' and dead. He could live with less profit if it would mean controlling the potential power house the boy seemed to have.

He set up camp at nightfall and rousing the boy he unsealed some food and waved it under the boy's nose knowing that he hadn't eaten in a while and would wake up right away. The boy woke up immediately and looking at the strange man he heard his stomach growl and looking at the tempting morsel he dug in. He didn't recognize the forest area but as the fire kept him warm he couldn't complain. The orphanage would only sometimes give him food and gave him shelter. He would take anything he could get right now to stave off the exhaustion he was feelings of exhaustion and hunger. He knew the man could very well kill him considering the 'fight' and the workers at the orphanage would beat him if they had a bad day with no watchers and give him no food so he ate his fill. Ko watched the boy carefully as he ate himself. The boy, Naruto, had the potential to be something great and the fools didn't even see it. He could remember himself when he was that waif and it was an older grey man staring at him and offering food. He would survive the training or die even before he hit his teen years. The boy was barely old enough to walk alone for civilian circles but he was of an age where he could be trained as a ninja should the council take him in. He was far too young like Ko was but as an elite assassin at the age of twenty he survived the same training, excelled and would give the boy the same chance he got.

Naruto for his part was feeling the exhaustion of the day and he was about to lie down when the man motioned towards a make-shift bed and walking slowly towards it he fell asleep beneath the covers. His mind still fuzzy and dulled from all the chaos. He awoke at dawn and the man was at the cooling fire pit sitting up and dozing off. He crept slowly towards the man and the moment he got within a few feet felt some wind and heard a thud. The kunai was imbedded in a tree a few feet and he looked up into two unblinking fathomless eyes and gulped. Naruto felt himself freeze up and could barely breath as he could feel the killer intent in the air so vividly he could taste blood. He was about to cry out when it faded slightly and the man unsealed some more food and set aside some medical supplies to deal with the bleeding lip. He handed the boy the food and went back to eating himself mindless of the strange looks he was receiving from the boy.

"My names Naruto! I'm six! Who are you?" Naruto asked smiling brightly.

"You can call me Ko." the man said.

"Thanks for to food Ko, where are we?" he asked hoping to get an answer

"Somewhere between Konoha and the Suna borders." the man said smiling at the shocked look.

"What? I'm not in Konoha? I..." Naruto trailed off not knowing how to continue.

"Want me to take you back?" Ko asked knowing if the boy said yes then he would actually kill the boy there.

"...No, not really. I just have never really left her walls..." Naruto said softly.

"Well then, we're in agreement. I have a job in Suna then will go back to home base, interested in joining me?" Ko said wondering if he'd just drop off Naruto in the nearest civilian village despite offering to take the young boy in.

"I'll go with you." Naruto said.

"Wonderful, eat fast then, I won't carry you from here to Suna's border but to get to Suna fast you'll have to be carried is that okay?" Ko asked.

"Sure! I mean I've never been held or carried before but..." Naruto continued eating and talking to Ko.

In Konoha (2 months later)

The Hokage found himself frustrated with the elders, the council, and even 'his' ninja forces. Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage yet again and his watcher apparently sleeping off a hangover was late by several hours leaving Naruto to wander off. The next guard 'thought' he saw the boy so he sat guarding the spot with the next guard not even bothering to double check. The care takers put a blonde wig and a pillow and simply told the guards that 'Naruto' came down with a cold and needed bed rest and couldn't eat. This went on apparently for a week then finally an alert went out but it was too late. Naruto could have been anywhere and unmotivated and figuring he would turn up eventually the ANBU just kept an eye out when passing where Naruto could usually be found. Not one of them thought to message the Hokage and Kakashi was out on a long term mission and he was the only one who would have. Thus two months later having bought some unusual flavors of ramen for the boy that he found was told that he had been missing for two months now and no one knew quite where the blond haired boy was.

The next month was spent in constant council meetings where he would listen to the elders, civilian, and ninja council squabble like children over what to do. The majority of the civilian seemed inclined to list him in the bingo books despite not being a ninja yet to bring him back, the ninja council was split between Shikaku's side which wanted to send a group of ninja out to search and Danzo who wanted to have his forces search inside Konoha for the boy. The elders were split between Shikaku and Danzo. He missed the boys bright presence during the days when the paperwork seemed to pile higher than him and he needed a break. He couldn't legally put Naruto in the bingo book, there wasn't enough ninja's to do as Shikaku asked and he couldn't allow Danzo to find the boy first if Naruto was actually in Konoha. Suddenly too tired to deal with the endless meetings he shouted loudly after three and a half months.

"Enough! It's pretty clear that we need to act sooner rather than later!" he shouted.

"And exactly what do you suggest we do?" Danzo said with a smile.

"We search Konoha first- he could be like before hiding in the forest like the last time the orphanage kicked him out. Shikaku and Danzo will overlook the search efforts." he said.

"But what if he's not in Konoha?" Shikaku asked.

"Then we send search parties out. He can't have gone far." he said.

"You should have killed the boy when you had the chance!" shouted a civilian council member.

"Doing so would have probably released the Kyuubi and made Minato's sacrifice pointless," though privately he thought it was already pointless considering the treatment of the boy.

"Then you should have at least let me have given him some training!" Danzo said.

"I've seen the way you train your ninjas, and the effects it has. It wasn't his job to fight those who would harm him but ours to protect his." the third Hokage said sounding resigned.

"He wouldn't have disappeared if you did though" Danzo hissed out.

"We search for him in Konoha first. If he's not here then we send search parties out. Now what else does this council need to cover?" he said with an air of finality.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto or am making $$$ off of this.

At the Suna Hidden Village

Ko watched his young companion struggle to stay still and smirked. The walk to the border wasn't too long but between the stops and Naruto it took a bit too long. He wouldn't be able to carry the extra weight the entire way but he bore the extra weight with grace arriving in time and sending the boy off with a wave. Naruto had learned that Ko wouldn't tell him how long he was going to be gone, only be told to go away, and expect to somehow know it was time to go. Ko would appear like a vengeful shadow and scoop up Naruto before chucking him over the shoulder and ignoring the protests. He knew it was better than being left behind but the man hadn't left him behind yet. Though being carried like that made him wish he was but he was beginning to enjoy Ko's company and understand his moods. He ran off in a random direction towards the sound of other children laughing. The park had many kids and some were playing catch. He was surprised when he got an invitation to play that he did until it was thrown too far. The result was the clearance of the other kids and he was the only one left. Saddened by it he simply asked the other boy if he wanted to play and it lasted until Ko appeared and picking up the blonde boy carried away the only child Gaara would remember as a child that played with him.

The meeting had gone well, he promised that the boy would be found dead, and then handed the potent poison to the man. He had requested a painless fast acting one but acting on a whim he gave him a fatal slow acting painful poison that had no antidote, taste, and couldn't be detected unless you were looking for it. If it was in his system long enough to cause damage he would die even if they manage to find a cure. The man wanted the best and he was theirs but was told straight he didn't kill children directly and that there would be unintended consequences for the client. Nearly spitting with rage the man insisted on Ko even paying twice of the agreed price. Ko's supervisors agreed at that and he was sent out to do the hit. He wasn't trained to ask questions either so didn't know why the man from Suna wanted Naruto dead. If it was important he would find out from intelligence when he got back.

The client had very few friends and many enemies and none willingly spent time with him. There were no warning signs only mild symptoms like a mild illness before fatigue set in then paralysis as cells died while the muscles swelled painfully as the brain received extra stimulus to be very aware of the pain. He would assume it didn't work or would take time and knock him out but in truth he wouldn't live long enough to tell anyone of the deal. Clutching the small vials of poisons he carried with him he wondered where his new young friend was when he felt a familiar chakra flare. He quickly hopped on the roof top and saw the red headed red chakra flare visible while his young friends purple chakra defend until it stopped and the two began playing. Ko frowned and wondered if he was better off killing the kid before he grew up to be a threat.

The pair left Suna shortly after with a chunin team to get them to the coast quickly and to help acquire a boat to travel south faster and more comfortably then trekking across the desert then who knows what else. Alone he could have done it but with Naruto in tow they pretended to be a formerly estranged uncle and nephew. They had similar enough facial features to pass of as distant relatives thankfully. Ko's eyes seemed darker now but he looked in pictures taken before and they were the exact shade as Naruto's . Naruto a subdued ball of sunshine was still chatting to a chunin as he was being carried quickly across the desert. Ko let his exhaustion show before they stopped for a break. He wasn't actually that tired but as he was pretending to be a civilian swordsman he wouldn't have as much stamina as the average chunin.

"I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did, Kaiza-san" the chunin said as they ate.

"I was well rested from the night before. I am used to long fast walks just not equally long, fast, and hard runs" Ko said.

"Well, we made good time. It'll be a few more days but there's always ships near the harbor willing to take folks like you" the chunin said.

"Yes, but I hope with a team of chunin helping me I'm not going to get ripped off," Ko said playing the chunin.

"I guess you're right. You seem smart enough to avoid them though," the chunin said.

"It would be safer I believe if you came with me at least to the mainland but do you have your..." he trailed off.

"Yeah,we're all qualified to help out ships. You'll still have to pay us when you reach port though," the chunin said.

"That's not an issue. I have recently come into a bit of money and my nephew wanted to see the world though I tire with his endless energy at times," Ko said 'affectionately' messing up Narutos' hair.

"I see well it's going to get dark soon so let's get a move on so we get Yamato home to his mother?" the chunin said as he began to kneel to carry Naruto.

"That would be fine. Thank you for taking us. I wouldn't know what I would do without you," Ko said sincerely as Naruto had driven him crazy on the run to Suna.

At the harbor

The pace increased and by the time Naruto woke up he was in a port town. It was different from even the small villages that Ko and him went to. There was people everywhere and he didn't know where to look. The smells assaulted his nose, and he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. The leading chunin had gone ahead to find a ship that he could hire himself and his team for a short trip. It was easy to add having two extra passengers if they could go twice as fast in transporting goods. The two haggled while his team and Ko had the harder job of keeping a bored hyper six year old amused long enough to get a boat. Rather the three chunin were desperately doing so while Ko had left them 'in charge' of his nephew. Naruto as a hellion on a sugar rush and quickly tired himself out while Ko using the distraction slipped away. The lead chunin came back to disorder. Naruto was asleep on his second in command, the other two seemed bushed and Kaiza was missing. The three instantly became more aware at the furious face of their leader but Naruto wasn't jostled around and none of them wanted a cranky tired six year old just yet. Sighing the lead chunin left his team in search of the wandering uncle. The chase was brief.

Naruto woke in a warm bed with someone holding him close. He jumped up and looked at Ko in surprise. The single bed barely fit Ko, even as slender, as he was and seeing it was the only bed in the room he relaxed. Ko sleepily became aware and sat up. The past few days were exhausting and he needed some rest. He was safe on the ship and Naruto was looking at him with wide eyes. Carrying the boy he tried to leave the room but the door was locked from the outside. It was quiet and it didn't look like a cell so he knocked loudly and shouted. Footsteps could be heard and Ko tensed wondering if they were going to be attacked, "Sorry about that, the captain locks the doors of guest rooms every night- don't want 'em getting hurt or seein' something they shouldn't. He forgets to unlock them sometimes," the sailor said as he blushed and wandered off.

On the ships deck in the captains cabin

"Well, I'm alive, sir. He didn't react any differently then anyone else would," the sailor said.

"Did he seem tense?" the captain asked.

"No more than someone finding themselves locked up would," the sailor said.

"I see. The chunin team said that it was unlikely they would break cover anyway," the captain said.

"Whoever those two are- or aren't - the cost of hiring a four man chunin team is more than someone like that could afford. Even if 'Kaiza' did get into some money he would at best hire a chunin leader with three genins' unless he wanted to leave quickly. The fact that he does seem to be suspicious but many young lords go off, it's strange that he has a kid, but it could be his nephew- they look alike," the sailor said.

"Unless he's under a permanent illusion but the chunin said he didn't sense any chakra implicating that. We'll treat him like a young lordling, even if he's not. Better safe then sorry and be sure to 'upgrade' their accommodations to amend for the mistake," the captain said.


End file.
